Generally, the microchip including a structure of a channel form has been widely used for purposes of cultivating cells, counting various particles including cells, and causing or measuring a reaction of fluid in in biology, medicine, environmental engineering, and food engineering fields.
For example, there is a product group of channel slides, manufactured by Ibidi Gmbh, Germany, as a case in that the microchip with the channel structure is used in the cultivation of the cells. This has shown that a micro channel is formed between two plates and an upper plate is made from a gas-permeable plastic, so as to achieve a purpose of cultivating the cells in the channel.
Further, in the case that the number or concentration of cells is measured, a channel shaped structure is used in a clinical laboratory and a biological laboratory. At this time, the concentration of the particles is indicated by the number of particles per unit volume. Accordingly, in order to measure the accurate number or the concentration of the particles, the volume within the microchip must be constantly maintained. Particularly, a hemocytometer which is a microchip generally used for a purpose of counting the cells is a device for defining a fixed volume, in which a height jaw prescribing an accurate height of a lower plate and an upper plate is made through a glass process and a cover glass is placed on the height jaw to maintain a precise height.
As described above, a process of moving, reacting, mixing and detecting fluid using the micro channel is a technology very generally used in a micro fluidics field. That is, in the micro fluidics field, the above mentioned purpose will be achieved by adding various types of structures within the channel. In any case, manufacturing of a microchip in which two or more plates are precisely adhered is a previous requirement to form a channel structure including fluid.
Especially, in an application field requiring that a solution in the channel has a desired volume, for example in a field of manufacturing the hemocytometer, it is an essential requirement to precisely form a height of the channel in correspondence to the desired purpose.
Hereinafter, the microchip will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 18. Here, FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a microchip according to a conventional art.
Referring to FIG. 18, the conventional microchip 10 includes an upper plate 11 on which an injection port 14 and a discharging port 15 are formed to be spaced at a predetermined distance from each other, and a lower plate 12 coupled to a lower surface of the upper plate 11 so that a channel 13 is formed between the upper plate 11 and the lower plate 12.
In the conventional microchip 10 according to the above-mentioned structure, when a sample is injected in the injection port 14, the sample is filled within the channel.
However, with the conventional microchip, since the upper plate and the lower plate are adhered by a solvent, a supersonic wave, and the like, to form the channel, or the channel is formed by using a film lamination, in which transparent upper and lower plates are adhered in turn to an upper portion and a lower portion of the channel, there is a problem in that a manufacturing process is complicated and difficult.
Further, there are problems in that since a process of manufacturing the conventional microchip is complicated and difficult, automatic equipment is required to mass-manufacture the microchip and a manufacturing cost increases due to a process of adhering the upper plate to the lower plate.
Furthermore, in the conventional microchip, when a solvent is unevenly coated or surfaces of the upper plate and the lower plate are uneven in an operation of adhering the upper plate to the lower plate, the upper plate is not completely adhered to the lower plate, resulting in a leakage of a solution. Also, since a deviation of height in the adhered surfaces of the upper plate and the lower plate is generated, there is a problem in that it is difficult to provide the channel with a desired volume.
In addition, the conventional microchip has a disadvantage in that the solvent used for the adhesion may react with a bio-substance in the channel so as to induce an undesired biological or chemical reaction.